


Take My Hand (And Don’t Forget)

by prototyping



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, Prompt Fill, Terra's there for like 2 seconds, Ven's sass levels are over 9000, genfic, he is smol but strong!!, you can decide who her date is idc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-04
Updated: 2016-06-04
Packaged: 2018-07-12 07:02:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7090696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prototyping/pseuds/prototyping
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frazzled nerves are never a match for the ones you love. Aqua + Ventus, AU. Done for the prompt "music."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Take My Hand (And Don’t Forget)

“What am I doing?” Aqua murmured.

The question was meant for nobody in particular, as she currently stood in her bedroom alone -- alone except for her reflection, that was, which stared back at her with uncertainty written in her chewed lip and frowning eyes. The radio on her dresser was background noise, turned down to a less distracting level.

_You’re getting ready for a date,_ she reminded herself silently. _A date. With a guy. For the first time ever. And you’re dressing up like this because you want to look_ nice, _because that’s how dates work. And now you’re worrying too much._

Aqua hummed in nonverbal agreement. This was the sixth time, at least, that she’d changed in the last half hour, having cycled back to her first choice in the end -- and this was probably the hundredth time she was glancing at the clock. Twenty minutes. She had twenty minutes to make up her scattered mind and just _pick_ something already.

She stopped biting her lip and made a face. It was a nice blouse -- one of her favorites -- but the knee-length skirt gave her the impression of prepping for a job interview more than a date. With a sigh she started to unbutton her shirt to change again, but a quick rap at the door made her look up.

“Aqua! You _still_ in there?”

Despite her anxious mood, she smiled. “Yeah,” she called back. “You can come in.”

The door opened less than a second later and Ven flashed her his usual bright grin. “Hey! You look nice--” Noticing the mess of clothes strewn across her floor and bed, his cheer wavered. His next look was one accompanied by a cocked eyebrow. “I didn’t know you even owned this many clothes. How many times have you changed?”

“Oh…” She turned back to her reflection, pretending to study her outfit some more. “A couple times.”

“Uh-huh.” He made his way over to her side, catching her eye in the floor-length mirror with another smile. “Hey, come on. There’s nothin’ to be nervous about.”

“I’m not nervous,” she said quickly.

“Then why’s your shirt inside out?”

“What?” Aqua quickly pivoted on her toes to scan her back -- sure enough, the tag and seams were visible. She gave a small groan as Ven laughed, but his was a warm sound.

“What’s the big deal? You two’ve gone out to eat before.”

“Yeah, at work,” she reminded him, moving over to the closet to scan her wardrobe options once more. She slipped out of her blouse as she went, leaving her in a white halter top. “That’s not the same. Exactly.”

With a grunt Ven dropped onto the edge of her bed, watching her with a puzzled look while his knee bounced to the rhythm on the radio. “This stuff’s too complicated for me,” he remarked. “Besides, you’re pretty no matter what you wear, so don’t stress it.”

A light warmth dusted Aqua’s cheeks as she smiled. “You’re sweet, Ven. Thanks. Whenever you start dating, make sure you tell her that, okay?”

“What, tell her that _you’re_ pretty? Won’t that cause some problems?”

“Oh, _hush_ \--” She grinned as she chucked her blouse at him, hitting him square in the face. He fell back on the mattress with a dramatic, defeated cry. His lighthearted joking was making her feel better, at least, and the anxious weight in her chest was quickly lifting. “You know what I meant.”

For probably the twelfth time she started flipping through her hangers, looking over each item with a scrutinizing stare. Ven joined her a moment later, doing the same. “Hey, wait -- go back,” he said suddenly. “What about that one?”

“This?” Pulling out the item in question, Aqua considered it uncertainly. It was a short dress, blue and thigh-length with white bell sleeves. “I haven’t worn this since Terra’s graduation,” she recalled fondly. The memory prompted a soft laugh. “I wonder if it still fits… But you don’t think it’s too teacher-looking?”

Ven shook his head. “Nah, it’s nice! Try it on and see!”

Nodding, Aqua moved back in front of her mirror to do just that. Ven turned around and took a few steps to give her some room, arms behind his head as he studied the far wall. She knew she could always trust him to be honest, so any opinion he gave would be a genuine one. One of the many perks of a nearly lifelong friendship, she supposed.

It didn’t take her long to slip into the small dress. It turned out that it did indeed still fit, and better than she remembered: she had to admit she liked the way it hugged her sides, comfortably so without being too tight. It was a dress clearly meant to show off the owner’s legs, but that was an attribute Aqua had never been self-conscious about.

“Ven?” she called back. “Can you give me a hand here?”

“Sure!” He bounded up behind her, following her gesture to zip the rest of the back closed. That done, he perched his chin on her shoulder and studied her reflection along with her, an easy feat when he was nearly a head shorter. “See? You look really pretty.”

Chuckling, Aqua leaned her head against his. “So what do you think? Is this the one?”

“I think it’s great,” he insisted with a wider smile. “And that you worry too much. Go for it.”

“All right,” she replied warmly. “If you say it’s good, then it’s good.”

“Not good, _great_ ,” he corrected, stepping back. “Give yourself some credit, Aqua. You look awesome. It’ll be fine.”

“Mm,” she hummed, flashing him a smile. With that much (finally) decided, she moved over to her dresser to consider her jewelry. She had much less in that department, fortunately, and with her main outfit chosen she wouldn’t need long to find the right accent piece.

“So where’re you two goin’, anyway?”

“The boardwalk.” Ah, there -- it was her favorite necklace, a silver star studded with blue jewels. She looped it around her neck and buckled it with practiced ease. “He suggested a walk after we eat. Maybe some dancing,” she added, the slightly higher note in her voice betraying her fondness for the idea.

“That sounds fun!”

“It does,” she agreed. Crouching down, she pulled a pair of white dress sandals from the depths of her closet and stepped into them. “I just hope I can manage it in these shoes. I haven’t broken them in much.”

“Says the ballerina,” Ven interjected with another grin. Aqua shook her head with a gentle scoff of a laugh.

“That was years ago. That doesn’t really count.”

“Ex-ballerina, then,” he replied in an unfazed heartbeat. “But hey, if you’re really worried--” He reached over and turned up the radio, and then stepped back in front of her and held out his hands. “C’mon! Let’s practice.”

Aqua laughed. “ _You_ just want an excuse to dance.”

“And you need to practice! So we both win.”

She couldn’t argue with that logic. Aqua placed her hands in his, stepping in close, and followed his lead as he dropped into the quick rhythm. It was nothing fancy, just some steps and turns and twirls -- although she knew he could do better, having taught him some pointers way back -- but it was enough to make her concentrate on her movements. More than that, it was enough to be fun, and they were soon trading laughs as they went.

Ven started to sing along, his voice putting a masculine twist on the female vocals that sounded natural. Between himself, Aqua, and his brother, he easily had the best singing voice; Aqua was the dancer of the group while Terra was the only one with any talent for an instrument, an old acoustic guitar that they had all three grown fond of. They’d spent a number of afternoons and evenings goofing around as a mini-band, not too differently from this, having found it was a good form of stress relief amid the pressures of high school and college.

Wearing heels on plush carpet was a pain, but if Aqua could handle that, she figured, she would be fine. So she closed her eyes and let the music guide her as much as Ven was, trusting the touch of his hands and the sound of his voice to tell her where to move while the rhythm told her how.

“ _Just one drop of your love_ \-- there you go!” Ven encouraged. “ _A single ray of sun, just one thing to change the world_ \-- and spin!” He led her into another twirl, a little faster than the previous. Aqua completed the motion and made a backstep, forward step, and then a second longer backstep until their hands were only just joined. Ven pulled her back in, let go of her hands, and then surprised her by actually picking her up around the middle and spinning in place with her. Her startled cry melted into laughter and she grabbed his shoulders, opening her eyes as he set her on her feet again and resumed their dance without a hitch.

She took the lead and picked up the pace, daring to push her limits a bit as her confidence in her balance continued to grow. Ven beamed as he followed, and when the song’s chorus rolled around again he gave her an indicative nod. “Your turn! Take it!”

Her voice definitely wasn’t as nice as his, but she wouldn’t break glass with it, either. Sending _him_ into a twirl this time -- and making him laugh as she did -- Aqua grinned and picked up the vocals. “ _It’s just you and me, starting with a dream, and giving it all we’ve got only takes one drop--_ ”

He joined her for the next line and together they finished off the song, their movements growing slower, smaller, until they were nearly at a standstill. Even then, Aqua leaned forward to set her chin on his shoulder and closed her eyes again with a smile, swaying in time with him to the last few notes.

Her previous nervousness was effectively gone. Ven and Terra both had a natural knack for picking up her mood no matter what the circumstances, even if they each went about it a little differently. For that and so much more, she loved them both more than she could ever fully express.

Right then, letting Ven hold her and feeling his chest vibrate as he hummed with the end of the song, Aqua decided: whatever came of this date, or the next, or any number of them afterward, she would never stop treasuring her two amazing friendships. Nothing and nobody would ever drive them apart.

A loud, high note pierced the peaceful atmosphere. The doorbell.

Ven and Aqua both quickly drew back, trading a knowing look -- and his instantly broke into a mischievous grin.

“Ven--”

“I GOT IT!” He released her and bolted for the hallway without another look back. Just like that, he went from considerate gentleman to the overexcited teenager Aqua was so used to.

“Ven!” She hurried after him, pausing in the doorway just long enough to kick off her shoes and snatch them up. She tried to sound stern, but a laugh snuck its way out as she yelled after him. “ _Ventus, get back here!”_ A series of rapid _thuds_ said he was already descending the staircase. She followed, seizing hold of the banister as she sharply rounded the top. Ven leaped over the last two steps at the bottom, glanced up at her with that same troublemaker grin as he landed, and then took off for the front door. She hurried down the steps as well, making good time -- until the last one, where she stumbled and fell with a yelp--

\--and collided with something solid and warm. Two arms caught her, practically grabbing her out of the air, and she looked up to see Terra staring down at her, startled. Was _everybody_ trying to answer the door ahead of her? “Uh. Hey?” he greeted uncertainly.

Pushing herself off of him, Aqua breathed a quick apology and thanks in the same second and turned to pursue Ven.

“What’s up?” Terra asked.

“Your brother!” she called back.

“Oh.” There was a pause, during which he apparently decided this wasn’t news. “You look nice!” he added.

She waved to let him know she appreciated it, but didn’t have time to spare him another glance.

**Author's Note:**

> *The song referenced is Plumb’s “One Drop.”
> 
> **I will always give nods and/or make direct references to Jesse McCartney and no one can stop me


End file.
